Apple's takeover of Shazam gets green light

The European Commission concluded on Thursday that the deal “would not adversely affect competition” or reduce choice for users of music streaming services.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: “Data is key in the digital economy. We must therefore carefully review transactions which lead to the acquisition of important sets of data, including potentially commercially sensitive ones, to ensure they do not restrict competition.

“After thoroughly analysing Shazam’s user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market.”

Apple Music has become the second largest music streaming service provider in Europe, while Shazam offers the leading music recognition app for mobile both in the European Economic Area and worldwide.

There were also worries that Apple would gain access to commercially sensitive data about competitors’ customers as a result of the takeover.

But the Commission said: “Access to Shazam’s data would not materially increase Apple’s ability to target music enthusiasts and any conduct aimed at making customers switch would only have a negligible impact.”

It added that the merged entity would not be able to shut out competing providers of digital music streaming services by restricting access to the Shazam app.